Ok y'all I got you vidIQ for $1: vidiq.com/nateblack (the NEW AI research dashboard is crazy useful!) What questions do you need answered to be clear on your RUclips direction?
Hey Nate. Question. I have been working on my channel for 6 months and over 52 videos. I am doing everything you talk about but RUclips still not giving many impressions. Some great videos only get 500 impressions. Should I continue to focus on this channel or start a new one with a smaller focused niche: topics and videos. The ones i have now are a little wider ranging. I dont think RUclips has still found my core audience. Rework existing channel with more focus or start new? Thanks for the great video.
Question. FOr referance, I've been on youtube nearly 4 years and about 600 videos but only 500 subs. 435 of my subs came from long form content or livestreams, have not posted shorts in a year, and i've got stuck on what to do. I don't want to only do gaming videos, but I feel uncapable of making other videos because I just dont have resources and other people to film with. I'm always by myself and nobody likes hanging out with me IRL. How can I grow my channel when the only thing I'm good at is failure? Do I start documenting those failures?
Hey Nate, I'd love to hear more from you about how a new creator can increase his chances of getting views, cuz initially, due to a lack of an established audience, no one's gonna be waiting to see my videos and then subsequently, due to a lack of views on my videos, audiences may choose to ignore my video even if the title and thumbnail are interesting.
I started a Lego channel 3 years ago, I class it as a failure, I did as much right as possible, good thumbnails, good information, HD 4k video but still flopped.
As one of those LEGO channels, this hit the nail on the head haha. A bunch of us talk over Discord all the time, giving each other advice on titles/thumbnails, video ideas, and ways we can all grow together rather than viewing each other as direct “competitors”. I would echo the recommendation for anyone and everyone to build (pun not intended) those connections in your own niches if possible! Been following you Nate since I was at 4k subs actually, keep up the amazing work!
I love this!! I’ve tried to connect with other channels in my niche and they don’t seem that interested 😢. Sometimes I honestly wonder if it’s because I’m Aussie and most of them are US? Or it’s becuase I’m too small of a channel for them to be interested in connecting? Wish I could work it out. I’m growing so slow!
For personal growth, my favorite is Steve Pavlina. I actually don’t watch his youtube videos, but his blog is wonderful. He’s quite original in the way he looks at the world. I’ve been a fan for years 🙂 I don’t watch his videos because his speaking style is awkward. Geek Chic maybe?
it's painfully criminal, and a blight upon the universe that your channel is on MASSIVE. You are the only "grow your channel" channel that I'm willing to watch at this point. such good content.
Competition on RUclips is up, I completely agree with you. Social proof on RUclips exists too, unfortunately. It’s harder for smaller channels to grow, but not impossible. I absolutely love your advice (and your personality). Thank you for always giving amazing advice. ❤️
Nate, I would love to get personal advice for my channel from you. I have been on your mailing list for a few months. Waiting and waiting. 😍 I have a lot of RUclips knowledge, but it seems like I can’t give myself good advice. My son has a channel that is doing well and I help him with advice quite a bit. But why can’t I be objective and give myself good advice? (I know, it’s a rhetorical question 😊) Alina
VidIQ is great. I agree there is a ton of content creators on RUclips and the competition is tough. The real problem is RUclips does a terrible job of managing content once you upload it. There is no rhyme or reason to what they do. They are very difficult to work with when you run into problems. They treat creators like crap. TikTok does a much better job of getting eyes on content once it’s uploaded.
Totally ... FOR ME, I've decided to commit until the end of the year. It's VERY discouraging to see/hear people out there claiming so many hundreds of views and subscribers super fast and not seeing that reality from your own work. I think it's also impractical / unreal. I figure I'll just persevere, give it my all and see where I land then decide what's next because this is the most comfortable way for me to put out content marketing.
I hate how optimised this process is. I'm a storyteller, a gamer, an artist, a creative, I just wanna make what I love and not worry about competition :/.
The thing is you CAN do that. But as an artist myself I have to always decide if I’m creating for others to see and gravitate to or if I’m creating for myself. That way my expectations are realistic. I don’t expect anything I make for myself to resonate to others since I never intended to market it that way. So if it gets attention it’s more so a gift. If you plan on sharing your art, even if it’s for yourself at the very least try to make it accessible for others to see or participate/ create dialogue around. So you don’t have the pressure to make things for optimization but others can tune in and see the journey at certain points.
Do both! I think what I’m looking to do in the near future is keep my “personal” channel (what I’m commenting from) as a Freeform posting my music and occasional memes sorta thing, but create a ‘primary’ channel to play the algorithm game more so in
@@jackieAZ Yeah I'm using my personal channel (this one) as a viewer of videos unlinked to my proper channel in the hopes that I can be a bit more casual with my comments and such on here so not planning to post anything. But even on my proper account I have multiple channels for different things, I just don't fully know how to balance optimisation with what I love yet. I just find the focus on optimisation sanitises and corporatises the experience which is hard to swallow if you're not that kind of person ya know? But I'll learn the balance eventually.
I just love the way I can watch the same video of yours multiple times and take something different and helpful away each time. Thank you for all you do. I'm riding the absolute struggle bus and hope I can get myself out of youtube jail soon bc it really sucks
Talking to others in the same niche is definitely helpful. I'm only tiny and the people I am talking to are also tiny, but we not only talk about what each of us are doing, but also our reactions to the bigger channels and what they are doing. It's a start, and helpful, and helps us build confidence.
If putting in enormous effort would translate to good results then most of us would probably find RUclips easy. The complexities and moving parts are quite the challenge when starting out on this journey.
That jumped off the screen at me!! What do you think the odds are that it was intentional? I think people who notice spelling errors kind of feel compelled to comment.
Competition is both good and bad. One on hand it helps you up your game, on the other it is extremely difficult to match the production value of a channel that has an entire team working on it. Some of them have teams that rival TV production crews. It would be nice if RUclips could somehow separate those spectrums into a more even playing field. I don't know maybe it my frustration talking! I just get down sometimes when people ask me why my channel isn't bigger and I don't know the answer. Rubric Question: Is personality as important as content topic?
One thing that some need to remember is some people (like myself) subscribed to channels about things that we're really interested in. For me it's video games, game dev and Drum Corps. I subscribe and watch all of the video game, game dev and Drum Corps channels that I could possibly find. Whether it's a large channel or small channel. And I usually stay subscribed to such channels as they gives me something to do as I develop my own games and I get things that I could synthesize for my own channel which posts similar content. The reason that I'm saying this is: Post your interests because there would be people looking for those kinds of channels and as long as RUclips's algorithm cooperates, those whom are looking for the type of content that you posted, will be able to SEE what your videos, etc. In this, sometimes I think RUclips's algorithm could be one's biggest enemy when it comes to growing a channel, because when some people post videos, we don't get to see them. RUclips's algorithm seems to holds back certain videos so that even subscribers don't see them. I know, because they do this with videos on my channel.
RUclips definitely makes it easier on channels that have gained some size and momentum. I noticed my video processing time go from hours to minutes but just thought youtube got better, I didn't realize I had crossed a threshold and was getting more priority with platform resources.
been watching you since you had 2k on channel makers back in the day. I love how you always keep it interesting with the topics you discuss instead of the same boring repetitive content similar competing channels have. I love how your humorous personality comes out in the content! Keep up the awesome videos! Also always love the drawing you do! yes I did boop the like button!
Thank you Nate, it worked! This is my second time watching and I’m going to go for a third so your brilliant advice permeates my actions. Thanks so much once again! Russ
Thanks for reminding us that self-awareness hasn't gone out of style! A) YES! B) How many Shorts do you recommend small creators put out each week? So much effort goes into my once weekly vlog, but the vast majority of my subs come from my daily Shorts!
Hey Nate! First off, you rock. I've been watching your videos for a couple years, and really enjoy them. I don't work very hard on my channel (because I have so many other time sucks, like my paid job) but spending some time continuing to learn so I can some day make my channel grow is awesome, and having someone with an engaging personality helps Second: I have some questions. You mention making connections. HOW do you reach out to these people? Leaving comments like this seems like the easiest thing, but is that really making connections? Are there better ways to make connections? In your comments, @TheB3 mentions a Discord for Lego creators. This sounds like an awesome way to make connections, but first I'd have to make connections with other queer creators in order to get such a Discord going.... Maybe it is just because I've not spent enough time building my brand and therefor don't have the clout to make the connections, but at the same time having people around to bounce ideas off of, connect with, and help with their projects will give me more drive to get things done and build that brand up so I can make those connections with the people who will....
I started reaching out to others in my space and I was surprised that most of them knew who I was and were happy to chat. I did't want anything more than to talk youtube and strategy. Don't be afraid to reach out to others.
I love to think about this concept you called iteration, but realistically, I just let my projects take me where they go. I dont think I am really in control of that sometimes. or maybe i am steering that more than I think? IDK but the vid iq thing is cool, great tip!
Something I'm always searching for when watching these sorts of videos is tips for RUclipsr's who make less common styles of videos. For example I've never been somneone who enjoys to do the "talking head explaining a topic" style of video. Instead I like to film/edit skits, stories and more visual style content. Our channel started out a bit more vanilla in the "lofi analog recording" niche, until we packed up and moved to Skyrim and things got really absurdist lol 😄 We come at RUclips from more of an artistic expression point of view, and I find it hard sometimes to get information that's specific to what we do. Been watching your videos for a long time, always great stuff :)
Off the topic but, it’s been really hard for me to find new creators in my niche to watch. I’m looking for the beginner small channels but RUclips rarely brings them up on my feed. That’s upsetting because I truly am interested in watching and supporting them to give them a leg up. Hope that will change someday. I enjoy watching your very informative videos. Keep up the amazing work you’re doing!
As someone who started back almost 15 years ago, and revisited over the last year or so over a couple different channels, this hits home so hard. It's a wildly different space today compared to what it was even a few years ago, let alone a decade+. Quality and a solid niche is simply not enough any more.
Saw your pic, and was curious to check out your RUclips channel. ❤ it! I’m a tech person at my “real” job. Been in IT many years. My channel has nothing to do with tech. 😂 Love the concept of your channel.
The more I see your channel, the more I like you as a person. I don't trust people much, but I trust you. I finally subbed and I think more and more people will do that as well.
I think whats really important on RUclips is really understanding your "unfair advantage" and leveraging tf out of it and essentially doubling down on ideas thats not necessarily "new or never done before" but taking an idea and putting a very unique spin on it. because it'll result in a large audience whose already familiar with it but innovated enough to be enamored by it. ive seen a lot of success doing this but the one thing id find challenging is believing in that idea yourself!
I've definitely noticed more and more competition and sometimes it feels a little sad seeing my channel not moving with the 'crowd'. I'll come back to this video probably many times to see how I can differentiate my channel and really have it stand out
I really enjoy your videos! I'm a teacher of languages and I've just started this channel to teach English to Spanish speakers... I've watched so many RUclips advice videos and find yours by far the most authentic and helpful - ¡muchas gracias! 😊
I feel that urgency every day! There’s a large learning curve for me when it comes to posting and editing more frequently! Learning to record multiple videos ahead of time. That way I always have one in my back pocket for when I need it
You are so very right. I somehow stumbled onto this idea because of having owned my own business in a different creative field (event planning, face painting) for 20+ years. Knowing others in your niche is SO helpful. From the time I started on RUclips, 2 years ago, I've been learning my lil niche of the gaming world, who the players are, who the big channels are, studying them, doing my best to figure out why they are big, and also studying others who have been doing this the same amount of time but aren't big. What's the difference? And yeah. I somehow knew that I had to start with building bridges. Just making them aware of me. So that if someone else mentioned me, they'd be like "oh Songbird? Yeah I've heard of her, she seems cool". Mostly this was because I wanted to learn from them. I wanted to be able to maybe occasionally ask them a business-related question, and have them answer. Not to be lost in the flood of DM's they must get daily from fans. And indeed that has happened. Ive gotten some extremely helpful advice and input, and learned even more just from getting a peek behind the curtain at what content creation is like at such a high level. I've also had some amazing collabs come from this. Not so much official structured "collabs" like negotiated "I'll be in one of your videos if you'll be in one of mine" or whatever... and more like, I have industry friends now. And we've worked on projects together. I've helped them solve problems. And I help them out, without strings attached. I don't insist they shout me out. I don't set up a tit for tat before helping them out. But, they often do shout me out. And just being mentioned on their channel, having my work showcased, has helped my channel grow! I'm not blowing up overnight, but I feel like I'm building a solid community as a foundation.
I hang out in a lot of blogging groups and so many of the bloggers have been hit really hard by the latest Google algorithm updates. Many of them are turning to RUclips to try to grow their blogs, so I think that is another big reason for the competition going up
I'm in LEGO niche, but it's hard to connect with other creators. As big/established one already busy, I find no reasons nor values I can provide so they actually reach out.
Hi Nate, thank you so much for always give great advices about RUclips stuff. I've followed your journey even before you have this channel and thanks to those advices, I can get around 1k subs every 3 months-ish I have a question / request, can you make an explanation about how to grow an ASMR roleplay channel? In general, each of the videos are a "scripted stories". Some of them are standalone video, some of them are multiple parts or series. How can I choose better title for those videos? Thank you Nate! Hope you have a lovely day!
Looks like you would need to 'pivot', painful to think about this, I know. You have burnt yourself out and run out of material for that niche. We can't just start publishing a completely new type of video and expect the subs to enjoy it.
I thought I was trippin' for a moment when you mentioned lego, for context: I just started lego channel recently (and consume a lot of lego content as well) and saw some of your vids in the past :D
Thank you for making this video. Rubric Question: How to balance making videos on topics I enjoy talking about vs. making videos on topics that perform do well for the channel?
I make LEGO videos too and there are so many amazing creators on your list, I’m probably on the bottom lol 😀 This is great advice and I’m glad your niche is taking about the LEGO RUclips community 😀
I’m trying to help people to connect with each other, like making introductions in the old fashioned way. It keeps my channel small and I’m fine with that. I understand that many people need the money from a big channel. But I’m more interested in the social aspect.
I know the reason I started a channel is because with the advent of Canva plus iPhone/Mac features made getting into making videos have a much lower barrier to entry. It’ll be interesting to see how stiff like AI makes this even lower potentially
I would love to see that rubric/quiz! And making connections is my big goal this quarter! I never thought of making awareness connections. That makes it feel a lot less scary to reach out to the channels I look up to!
First, thank you for breaking down making connections. This is something that I am always struggling with because I thought it needed to be more than just an "I exist" message and I would like to chat with you. Second, I would love a rubric and think it would be incredibly helpful! Thanks!
Great stuff Nate! Was cool to see you talk about the LEGO niche as a channel trying to be a big player there one day! For me it's been really cool to get some comments from a few of the massive channels in my niche, really makes it feel like I'm heading in the right direction. Do you think that as a small-mid sized creator it makes sense to be reaching out to channels that are bigger than mine or just focus on building those bridges with similarly sized channels for the time being? Might be answering my own question but I suspect both might be the right call. In that case, do you think that the best approach for reaching out changes with the relative size of channels? Always appreciate your vids!
Great video Nate. You have a really good way to breaking down the steps in an understandable and doable way. I'd be interested in the yes/no video as well!
Nate’s videos are so good! I watch them a few times throughout the day when he uploads them, then I rewatch old videos throughout the week. It feels like there is always something new I hear, which I haven’t really heard the first time.
Thanks for the video! We are a Halloween props company and use our RUclips story to share what we do. Loved the last part of your video on connections! Keep up the good work.
Thank you so much for addressing the connection with others! I feel like you actually read my comment and were speaking to me! This is a lonely game and not many people get it. The irony is that i am a bit shy, so reaching out to others is hard for me. Your advice is wonderful in its simplicity. Three people, one day a week, just to build a bridge. Perfection.
Thanks Nate. I try so hard to make all those tips you give work for my channel. Not (yet) super successful. But I stick with trying because while there are tons of people giving you opinions how to be successful and most of them have opposite opinions of all the others yours make most sense, are understandable and seem more reliable. I hope one day I can make it work. Its also a little harder to reach out to creators since the email in the about section is gone. Some of my videos give over 500 views, the next (similar topic) 2. I still don't know what I did wrong but I keep trying with your videos. Thanks for helping us
“You are the common denominator…” is historically my favorite phrase I live by lol, I said that in my first video with a face, I said that constantly when I worked at a cute gallery where I sold everybody multicolored jewelry in different color pallets because if it went with them, it went with thier clothes because “they were the common denominator” ☺️
As a LEGO animator, it's really hard to speed up the process of making projects without sacrificing their quality. I have very little time as it is with family, friends, college, and work. I'm just hoping that when I do projects and I improve the quality as I go, I can gain more of a following that way.
Honestly it's a very interesting experience taking this journey from an editor standpoint of view instead of the Creator itself. Be able to be behind the scenes across multiple niches and communities but more importantly understanding each niche and what is expected. There's just Soo many connections being made and most people won't even know we exist 😂
@ThatNateBIack1 your channel is very helpful and we always sharing videos with clients to help them make better recording choices. Doodle's often also in charge of titles and thumbnails so we always watching your content for our own growth too.
Yes, would love the quiz! I’ve been considering starting a channel but lack a clear singular focus. I would hope the quiz would give me confidence in starting now or not (at a more affordable price than a consultation)
I plan on writing out 10 names of people I want to build a bridge with. I've built bridges, but with people that are a bit ahead of me. However i know i need to start building solid connections with those that are really really ahead of me.
Such a test you proposed at the end of the video sounds interesting. Being a small creator can be so discouraging, tho. I've tried to reach a few creators proposing them to help with preparing the research for a video that would suit their channel but never got any response, eh.
I have to admit that the idea of looking at my competitors makes sense, however, it gives me a huge anxiety, that's why I keep struggling to create scripts and really film the videos and at the end of the day, I'm going nowhere :(
My niche is strangely small and hard to explain. The people who do the best tend to understand the least. I think understanding more is a handicap and interaction with these type of people I doubt will help because I like accuracy. Some people are accurate and good and I have reached out but they are stand offish.
I have been working through these points, some with awareness and some just part of how we have been trying out new ways to grow. This was a great video and truly a relief knowing some of our approach is spot on. I would love to chat more with channels in and out of our niche. Nate?
Every time I ask for help under creator support they keep telling me I'm getting invalid traffic in which I don't understand why so that has been resulting in lower watch time and revenue. Help please
I feel it was easier to get big on RUclips like 15-20 years ago because now more people are on it and RUclips makes it almost impossible to get monetized due to 4k watch hrs which seems like a mountain to get to and even then you don’t get paid that much
Can you talk about booktube or at least mention some examples of booktubers pls? I think it’s a niche that kinda blew up in the pandemic but now it feels like it keeps loosing traction in a constant pace. As a booktuber myself I can’t help but overthink and worry about it
I absolutely agree with increase in competition. I have been aware of quite big money paying attention and supporting growth. Plus the algorithm is very much narrowing what it shows individual viewers. I randomly access totally different channels to keep variety available outside my bubble. AI can narrow the world far too much. Do you look into areas outside your niche?
4:26 something is working. Cause is the first time I have watched you. The reason is cause your page popped up on my watch list. (I want to give you a gift and tell you my steps in order to have more material for your studies) 1. I was sceptic about the tumbnail 2. I read some good comments 3. Then I decided to watch it 4. Now, I think your content is cool, and maybe it will be useful to me (I have a half idea, no body knows, to open a channel myself) 5. So i subscribe in case i will need you
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Ok y'all I got you vidIQ for $1: vidiq.com/nateblack (the NEW AI research dashboard is crazy useful!)
What questions do you need answered to be clear on your RUclips direction?
Hey Nate. Question. I have been working on my channel for 6 months and over 52 videos. I am doing everything you talk about but RUclips still not giving many impressions. Some great videos only get 500 impressions. Should I continue to focus on this channel or start a new one with a smaller focused niche: topics and videos. The ones i have now are a little wider ranging. I dont think RUclips has still found my core audience. Rework existing channel with more focus or start new? Thanks for the great video.
Question. FOr referance, I've been on youtube nearly 4 years and about 600 videos but only 500 subs. 435 of my subs came from long form content or livestreams, have not posted shorts in a year, and i've got stuck on what to do. I don't want to only do gaming videos, but I feel uncapable of making other videos because I just dont have resources and other people to film with. I'm always by myself and nobody likes hanging out with me IRL. How can I grow my channel when the only thing I'm good at is failure? Do I start documenting those failures?
Hey Nate, I'd love to hear more from you about how a new creator can increase his chances of getting views, cuz initially, due to a lack of an established audience, no one's gonna be waiting to see my videos and then subsequently, due to a lack of views on my videos, audiences may choose to ignore my video even if the title and thumbnail are interesting.
I started a Lego channel 3 years ago, I class it as a failure, I did as much right as possible, good thumbnails, good information, HD 4k video but still flopped.
@@TheAdultingAcademy Target content bassed on pop media, that works more for search, Im trying it now but it might flop but hey.
As one of those LEGO channels, this hit the nail on the head haha. A bunch of us talk over Discord all the time, giving each other advice on titles/thumbnails, video ideas, and ways we can all grow together rather than viewing each other as direct “competitors”. I would echo the recommendation for anyone and everyone to build (pun not intended) those connections in your own niches if possible!
Been following you Nate since I was at 4k subs actually, keep up the amazing work!
If it isn’t @TheB3! Glad to see you here! I’ll join your ranks someday 🫡
☝️
I love this!! I’ve tried to connect with other channels in my niche and they don’t seem that interested 😢. Sometimes I honestly wonder if it’s because I’m Aussie and most of them are US? Or it’s becuase I’m too small of a channel for them to be interested in connecting? Wish I could work it out. I’m growing so slow!
I need this for fitness 😅
Love that! I feel the same way.I try to help other channel's do good, and I appreciate it when others help me.
This is me being aware of you. The number one reason RUclips is worth it to me is my personal growth.
I like that! Personal growth!
For personal growth, my favorite is Steve Pavlina. I actually don’t watch his youtube videos, but his blog is wonderful. He’s quite original in the way he looks at the world. I’ve been a fan for years 🙂 I don’t watch his videos because his speaking style is awkward. Geek Chic maybe?
it's painfully criminal, and a blight upon the universe that your channel is on MASSIVE. You are the only "grow your channel" channel that I'm willing to watch at this point. such good content.
Nate is good. :)
Well hey, thank you 🎉
Very true!
Shows that something is wrong with the very YT algorithm that you’re trying to help us with.
Couldn't agree more! Nate didn't compete with other channels. He simply made content so good that the others wouldn't even be considered.
Competition on RUclips is up, I completely agree with you.
Social proof on RUclips exists too, unfortunately. It’s harder for smaller channels to grow, but not impossible.
I absolutely love your advice (and your personality).
Thank you for always giving amazing advice. ❤️
Thank YOU for sharing your thoughts in the comments! Means a lot to me @healthandyum
Nate, I would love to get personal advice for my channel from you. I have been on your mailing list for a few months. Waiting and waiting. 😍
I have a lot of RUclips knowledge, but it seems like I can’t give myself good advice.
My son has a channel that is doing well and I help him with advice quite a bit. But why can’t I be objective and give myself good advice? (I know, it’s a rhetorical question 😊)
Alina
As a small channel who is slowly growing, it can be frustrating to put so much into the channel for minimal results.
Looks like you do some of the things we do ❤
I hear you!
@@worldschoolmanatees I just checked your channel and you are so right. We really enjoy the same things so I hit that button. 😊
@TripNWithRed hey that's great, thank you! Same :)
@@worldschoolmanatees 😁
VidIQ is great. I agree there is a ton of content creators on RUclips and the competition is tough. The real problem is RUclips does a terrible job of managing content once you upload it. There is no rhyme or reason to what they do. They are very difficult to work with when you run into problems. They treat creators like crap. TikTok does a much better job of getting eyes on content once it’s uploaded.
My niche "metal detecting" has exploded. When I started there were very few channels, but today .. A TON !!!
Same thing is being seen in the precious metal collecting and stacking community as well as in the emergency preparedness (prepping) niche
Hi canuck
Yep there's even videos of it in my language now(Estonian)
I've seen a few of those videos and they are fake, all staged. I hate them. If your videos are entertaining and real, keep at it.
I’m grinding hard every day to reach my goals. It will be long and probably painful, but my channel makes me happy. I’ll get there one day😊😊
👏🏾
Totally ... FOR ME, I've decided to commit until the end of the year. It's VERY discouraging to see/hear people out there claiming so many hundreds of views and subscribers super fast and not seeing that reality from your own work. I think it's also impractical / unreal. I figure I'll just persevere, give it my all and see where I land then decide what's next because this is the most comfortable way for me to put out content marketing.
@@labineverylesson Exactly. Do it for the love before anything else😊
@@labineverylesson Likewise. Your channel looks great, by the way! 😄
I sincerely hope that if you are reading this, your channel becomes very popular. Let’s continue to work hard.
I wish the same for you
I hate how optimised this process is. I'm a storyteller, a gamer, an artist, a creative, I just wanna make what I love and not worry about competition :/.
Same boat we’re on
The thing is you CAN do that. But as an artist myself I have to always decide if I’m creating for others to see and gravitate to or if I’m creating for myself. That way my expectations are realistic.
I don’t expect anything I make for myself to resonate to others since I never intended to market it that way. So if it gets attention it’s more so a gift.
If you plan on sharing your art, even if it’s for yourself at the very least try to make it accessible for others to see or participate/ create dialogue around. So you don’t have the pressure to make things for optimization but others can tune in and see the journey at certain points.
Do both! I think what I’m looking to do in the near future is keep my “personal” channel (what I’m commenting from) as a Freeform posting my music and occasional memes sorta thing, but create a ‘primary’ channel to play the algorithm game more so in
@@jackieAZ Yeah I'm using my personal channel (this one) as a viewer of videos unlinked to my proper channel in the hopes that I can be a bit more casual with my comments and such on here so not planning to post anything. But even on my proper account I have multiple channels for different things, I just don't fully know how to balance optimisation with what I love yet. I just find the focus on optimisation sanitises and corporatises the experience which is hard to swallow if you're not that kind of person ya know? But I'll learn the balance eventually.
Happy 50K Subscribers! 🎈
Oh that's what the 50 was! hahaha - thanks, I didn't spot that.
I just love the way I can watch the same video of yours multiple times and take something different and helpful away each time. Thank you for all you do. I'm riding the absolute struggle bus and hope I can get myself out of youtube jail soon bc it really sucks
Thank you very much for mentioning our tool 🤗
Talking to others in the same niche is definitely helpful. I'm only tiny and the people I am talking to are also tiny, but we not only talk about what each of us are doing, but also our reactions to the bigger channels and what they are doing. It's a start, and helpful, and helps us build confidence.
love that you take such a specific niche for videos and make the advice available for everyone
adding a comment because your channel is absolutely amazing. dont stop making videos!!!!
If putting in enormous effort would translate to good results then most of us would probably find RUclips easy. The complexities and moving parts are quite the challenge when starting out on this journey.
3:09 Nate doesn't do L's in Specialties cause he always takes home W's, great vid!
That jumped off the screen at me!! What do you think the odds are that it was intentional? I think people who notice spelling errors kind of feel compelled to comment.
Happy 50th birthday!!! 🎂✨
Ahaha 🤣 you caught the background. really that was a celebration of 50k subs my wife surprised me with. Thanks either way :)
I was wondering same thing - 50th🎉 birthday but looked to young then thought 50k subs 😉
- And confirmed…
Nate is definitely not 50. Maybe 60 (joking!)
@@ThatNateBlackYep, you look too young to be 50. 😂 And congratulations!! 🎉
Competition is both good and bad. One on hand it helps you up your game, on the other it is extremely difficult to match the production value of a channel that has an entire team working on it. Some of them have teams that rival TV production crews.
It would be nice if RUclips could somehow separate those spectrums into a more even playing field. I don't know maybe it my frustration talking! I just get down sometimes when people ask me why my channel isn't bigger and I don't know the answer.
Rubric Question: Is personality as important as content topic?
Heard. 👍
I’ve been analyzing distinction for this very reason! Perfect timing, very helpful
Howdy @NathanFostr! Glad to hear that, and great name btw :)
Hi Nate, I reached 1000 subscribers this week. I regularly watch your videos and find them challenging and insightful. Thank you!
One thing that some need to remember is some people (like myself) subscribed to channels about things that we're really interested in. For me it's video games, game dev and Drum Corps. I subscribe and watch all of the video game, game dev and Drum Corps channels that I could possibly find. Whether it's a large channel or small channel. And I usually stay subscribed to such channels as they gives me something to do as I develop my own games and I get things that I could synthesize for my own channel which posts similar content. The reason that I'm saying this is: Post your interests because there would be people looking for those kinds of channels and as long as RUclips's algorithm cooperates, those whom are looking for the type of content that you posted, will be able to SEE what your videos, etc. In this, sometimes I think RUclips's algorithm could be one's biggest enemy when it comes to growing a channel, because when some people post videos, we don't get to see them. RUclips's algorithm seems to holds back certain videos so that even subscribers don't see them. I know, because they do this with videos on my channel.
the yes/no question-quiz thing sounds usefull!
Noted, thanks!
RUclips definitely makes it easier on channels that have gained some size and momentum. I noticed my video processing time go from hours to minutes but just thought youtube got better, I didn't realize I had crossed a threshold and was getting more priority with platform resources.
been watching you since you had 2k on channel makers back in the day. I love how you always keep it interesting with the topics you discuss instead of the same boring repetitive content similar competing channels have. I love how your humorous personality comes out in the content! Keep up the awesome videos! Also always love the drawing you do!
yes I did boop the like button!
Thank you Nate, it worked! This is my second time watching and I’m going to go for a third so your brilliant advice permeates my actions. Thanks so much once again! Russ
Thanks for reminding us that self-awareness hasn't gone out of style! A) YES! B) How many Shorts do you recommend small creators put out each week? So much effort goes into my once weekly vlog, but the vast majority of my subs come from my daily Shorts!
Definitely going to work on my "speciaties". Thanks for another vid Nate!
Ayyyy LEGO niche love! My channel wouldn’t be where it’s at with out your wisdom! Keep delivering the knowledge!!!!
Hey Nate!
First off, you rock. I've been watching your videos for a couple years, and really enjoy them. I don't work very hard on my channel (because I have so many other time sucks, like my paid job) but spending some time continuing to learn so I can some day make my channel grow is awesome, and having someone with an engaging personality helps
Second: I have some questions. You mention making connections. HOW do you reach out to these people? Leaving comments like this seems like the easiest thing, but is that really making connections? Are there better ways to make connections? In your comments, @TheB3 mentions a Discord for Lego creators. This sounds like an awesome way to make connections, but first I'd have to make connections with other queer creators in order to get such a Discord going.... Maybe it is just because I've not spent enough time building my brand and therefor don't have the clout to make the connections, but at the same time having people around to bounce ideas off of, connect with, and help with their projects will give me more drive to get things done and build that brand up so I can make those connections with the people who will....
I started reaching out to others in my space and I was surprised that most of them knew who I was and were happy to chat. I did't want anything more than to talk youtube and strategy. Don't be afraid to reach out to others.
I love to think about this concept you called iteration, but realistically, I just let my projects take me where they go. I dont think I am really in control of that sometimes. or maybe i am steering that more than I think? IDK but the vid iq thing is cool, great tip!
RUclips won't tell you that this is another great video, but I will!
You wrote a Christmas message on your notepad in this video. You wrote Speciaties with... wait for it... Noel.
Something I'm always searching for when watching these sorts of videos is tips for RUclipsr's who make less common styles of videos. For example I've never been somneone who enjoys to do the "talking head explaining a topic" style of video. Instead I like to film/edit skits, stories and more visual style content. Our channel started out a bit more vanilla in the "lofi analog recording" niche, until we packed up and moved to Skyrim and things got really absurdist lol 😄 We come at RUclips from more of an artistic expression point of view, and I find it hard sometimes to get information that's specific to what we do. Been watching your videos for a long time, always great stuff :)
Thank you so much for this position to take my RUclips channel to the next leave as a fitness RUclips ❤
Off the topic but, it’s been really hard for me to find new creators in my niche to watch. I’m looking for the beginner small channels but RUclips rarely brings them up on my feed. That’s upsetting because I truly am interested in watching and supporting them to give them a leg up. Hope that will change someday. I enjoy watching your very informative videos. Keep up the amazing work you’re doing!
As someone who started back almost 15 years ago, and revisited over the last year or so over a couple different channels, this hits home so hard. It's a wildly different space today compared to what it was even a few years ago, let alone a decade+. Quality and a solid niche is simply not enough any more.
I just recently started RUclips and im not giving up!, i just wanna say to all small RUclipsrs like me, we can do this Guys! Keep Grinding!
Saw your pic, and was curious to check out your RUclips channel. ❤ it! I’m a tech person at my “real” job. Been in IT many years. My channel has nothing to do with tech. 😂 Love the concept of your channel.
"Competition is Changing" thumbnail will win by far.
The more I see your channel, the more I like you as a person. I don't trust people much, but I trust you. I finally subbed and I think more and more people will do that as well.
I think whats really important on RUclips is really understanding your "unfair advantage" and leveraging tf out of it and essentially doubling down on ideas thats not necessarily "new or never done before" but taking an idea and putting a very unique spin on it. because it'll result in a large audience whose already familiar with it but innovated enough to be enamored by it. ive seen a lot of success doing this but the one thing id find challenging is believing in that idea yourself!
I've definitely noticed more and more competition and sometimes it feels a little sad seeing my channel not moving with the 'crowd'.
I'll come back to this video probably many times to see how I can differentiate my channel and really have it stand out
I really enjoy your videos! I'm a teacher of languages and I've just started this channel to teach English to Spanish speakers... I've watched so many RUclips advice videos and find yours by far the most authentic and helpful - ¡muchas gracias! 😊
I feel that urgency every day! There’s a large learning curve for me when it comes to posting and editing more frequently! Learning to record multiple videos ahead of time. That way I always have one in my back pocket for when I need it
You are so very right. I somehow stumbled onto this idea because of having owned my own business in a different creative field (event planning, face painting) for 20+ years. Knowing others in your niche is SO helpful.
From the time I started on RUclips, 2 years ago, I've been learning my lil niche of the gaming world, who the players are, who the big channels are, studying them, doing my best to figure out why they are big, and also studying others who have been doing this the same amount of time but aren't big. What's the difference?
And yeah. I somehow knew that I had to start with building bridges. Just making them aware of me. So that if someone else mentioned me, they'd be like "oh Songbird? Yeah I've heard of her, she seems cool".
Mostly this was because I wanted to learn from them. I wanted to be able to maybe occasionally ask them a business-related question, and have them answer. Not to be lost in the flood of DM's they must get daily from fans.
And indeed that has happened. Ive gotten some extremely helpful advice and input, and learned even more just from getting a peek behind the curtain at what content creation is like at such a high level.
I've also had some amazing collabs come from this. Not so much official structured "collabs" like negotiated "I'll be in one of your videos if you'll be in one of mine" or whatever... and more like, I have industry friends now. And we've worked on projects together. I've helped them solve problems. And I help them out, without strings attached. I don't insist they shout me out. I don't set up a tit for tat before helping them out. But, they often do shout me out. And just being mentioned on their channel, having my work showcased, has helped my channel grow! I'm not blowing up overnight, but I feel like I'm building a solid community as a foundation.
great video. that second half is gold.
I love your channel! Thanks for sharing this I'm always surfing for tips from you and I'm here to STAY man
I hang out in a lot of blogging groups and so many of the bloggers have been hit really hard by the latest Google algorithm updates. Many of them are turning to RUclips to try to grow their blogs, so I think that is another big reason for the competition going up
I'm in LEGO niche, but it's hard to connect with other creators. As big/established one already busy, I find no reasons nor values I can provide so they actually reach out.
Hi Nate, thank you so much for always give great advices about RUclips stuff. I've followed your journey even before you have this channel and thanks to those advices, I can get around 1k subs every 3 months-ish
I have a question / request, can you make an explanation about how to grow an ASMR roleplay channel?
In general, each of the videos are a "scripted stories". Some of them are standalone video, some of them are multiple parts or series.
How can I choose better title for those videos?
Thank you Nate! Hope you have a lovely day!
At this point I think my channel is on life support. No matter what I post outside of funny reaction shorts nobody is interested 🤷🏽♀️🤦🏽♀️
Looks like you would need to 'pivot', painful to think about this, I know. You have burnt yourself out and run out of material for that niche. We can't just start publishing a completely new type of video and expect the subs to enjoy it.
@@ThoughtfulAl IT might be easier to just start a whole new channel and keep these people happy with their shorts lol
I thought I was trippin' for a moment when you mentioned lego, for context: I just started lego channel recently (and consume a lot of lego content as well) and saw some of your vids in the past :D
Thank you for making this video. Rubric Question: How to balance making videos on topics I enjoy talking about vs. making videos on topics that perform do well for the channel?
Noted!
I second this idea!
I make LEGO videos too and there are so many amazing creators on your list, I’m probably on the bottom lol 😀 This is great advice and I’m glad your niche is taking about the LEGO RUclips community 😀
I’m trying to help people to connect with each other, like making introductions in the old fashioned way. It keeps my channel small and I’m fine with that.
I understand that many people need the money from a big channel. But I’m more interested in the social aspect.
If Guru Nate only has a total of 1.8 Million views after all of his excellent Hard work, what chance do we mere Earthlings have?
almost forgot to boop the like button and you told me 10 seconds after I did it 😂
Thanks Nate! I logged in and weirdly I have a script that I need to film for a trend topic in my niche so I guess I better film it!
Just found your channel and I have been stuck on watching your videos all day. Gave me a fresh look on creating videos, thank you!!
I know the reason I started a channel is because with the advent of Canva plus iPhone/Mac features made getting into making videos have a much lower barrier to entry. It’ll be interesting to see how stiff like AI makes this even lower potentially
I would love to see that rubric/quiz! And making connections is my big goal this quarter! I never thought of making awareness connections. That makes it feel a lot less scary to reach out to the channels I look up to!
First, thank you for breaking down making connections. This is something that I am always struggling with because I thought it needed to be more than just an "I exist" message and I would like to chat with you. Second, I would love a rubric and think it would be incredibly helpful! Thanks!
Great stuff Nate! Was cool to see you talk about the LEGO niche as a channel trying to be a big player there one day!
For me it's been really cool to get some comments from a few of the massive channels in my niche, really makes it feel like I'm heading in the right direction. Do you think that as a small-mid sized creator it makes sense to be reaching out to channels that are bigger than mine or just focus on building those bridges with similarly sized channels for the time being? Might be answering my own question but I suspect both might be the right call. In that case, do you think that the best approach for reaching out changes with the relative size of channels?
Always appreciate your vids!
Great video Nate. You have a really good way to breaking down the steps in an understandable and doable way. I'd be interested in the yes/no video as well!
As a small Lego RUclipsr, this felt particularly relevant to me lol, thank you helping to make my list of things to work on!
Lego RUclipsr! Nice!
Great stuff Nate! You're right, I need to reach out more to fellow creatives. Thanks for the reminder!
i love the way you write on your notebook :)
Always find it interesting listening to your uploads while pondering future moves 👍
Nate’s videos are so good!
I watch them a few times throughout the day when he uploads them, then I rewatch old videos throughout the week.
It feels like there is always something new I hear, which I haven’t really heard the first time.
The only advice channel I watch , so authentic ❤
Hey Nate, you’re awesome man I listen to you while driving you help me out a lot!
Ill admit competition is up and much like other niches, mine seems to also becoming saturated. Game is getting tough! Im making some changes soon
Thanks for the video! We are a Halloween props company and use our RUclips story to share what we do. Loved the last part of your video on connections! Keep up the good work.
Thank you so much for addressing the connection with others! I feel like you actually read my comment and were speaking to me! This is a lonely game and not many people get it. The irony is that i am a bit shy, so reaching out to others is hard for me. Your advice is wonderful in its simplicity. Three people, one day a week, just to build a bridge. Perfection.
Thanks Nate. I try so hard to make all those tips you give work for my channel. Not (yet) super successful. But I stick with trying because while there are tons of people giving you opinions how to be successful and most of them have opposite opinions of all the others yours make most sense, are understandable and seem more reliable. I hope one day I can make it work. Its also a little harder to reach out to creators since the email in the about section is gone. Some of my videos give over 500 views, the next (similar topic) 2. I still don't know what I did wrong but I keep trying with your videos. Thanks for helping us
“You are the common denominator…” is historically my favorite phrase I live by lol, I said that in my first video with a face, I said that constantly when I worked at a cute gallery where I sold everybody multicolored jewelry in different color pallets because if it went with them, it went with thier clothes because “they were the common denominator” ☺️
I feel I need to put more of an effort into my channel, thanks for this advice 👏
Hello Nate, I have watched several videos on your channel. Lots of good actionable content. Thanks for putting this information out to masses!
As a LEGO animator, it's really hard to speed up the process of making projects without sacrificing their quality. I have very little time as it is with family, friends, college, and work. I'm just hoping that when I do projects and I improve the quality as I go, I can gain more of a following that way.
Honestly it's a very interesting experience taking this journey from an editor standpoint of view instead of the Creator itself. Be able to be behind the scenes across multiple niches and communities but more importantly understanding each niche and what is expected. There's just Soo many connections being made and most people won't even know we exist 😂
@ThatNateBIack1 your channel is very helpful and we always sharing videos with clients to help them make better recording choices. Doodle's often also in charge of titles and thumbnails so we always watching your content for our own growth too.
Yes, would love the quiz! I’ve been considering starting a channel but lack a clear singular focus. I would hope the quiz would give me confidence in starting now or not (at a more affordable price than a consultation)
As a growing creator. I can assure you to enjoy your journey. ✨
I plan on writing out 10 names of people I want to build a bridge with. I've built bridges, but with people that are a bit ahead of me. However i know i need to start building solid connections with those that are really really ahead of me.
Such a test you proposed at the end of the video sounds interesting.
Being a small creator can be so discouraging, tho. I've tried to reach a few creators proposing them to help with preparing the research for a video that would suit their channel but never got any response, eh.
I have to admit that the idea of looking at my competitors makes sense, however, it gives me a huge anxiety, that's why I keep struggling to create scripts and really film the videos and at the end of the day, I'm going nowhere :(
is a good topic suggestion, i am exactly trying to figure out this very thing for my channel right now, so i say it is on point.
My niche is strangely small and hard to explain. The people who do the best tend to understand the least. I think understanding more is a handicap and interaction with these type of people I doubt will help because I like accuracy. Some people are accurate and good and I have reached out but they are stand offish.
I've been blessed with awesome viewers! The interaction in the comments section is priceless to me.
I have been working through these points, some with awareness and some just part of how we have been trying out new ways to grow. This was a great video and truly a relief knowing some of our approach is spot on. I would love to chat more with channels in and out of our niche. Nate?
Thanks for the advice, hopefully my channel becomes alive again. Even tho I got a good bit of subscribers my channel is dead
I really do appreciate your work and providing us the best value to win on RUclips God bless you! 🙏🏾
Every time I ask for help under creator support they keep telling me I'm getting invalid traffic in which I don't understand why so that has been resulting in lower watch time and revenue. Help please
I feel it was easier to get big on RUclips like 15-20 years ago because now more people are on it and RUclips makes it almost impossible to get monetized due to 4k watch hrs which seems like a mountain to get to and even then you don’t get paid that much
Can you talk about booktube or at least mention some examples of booktubers pls? I think it’s a niche that kinda blew up in the pandemic but now it feels like it keeps loosing traction in a constant pace. As a booktuber myself I can’t help but overthink and worry about it
I absolutely agree with increase in competition. I have been aware of quite big money paying attention and supporting growth. Plus the algorithm is very much narrowing what it shows individual viewers. I randomly access totally different channels to keep variety available outside my bubble. AI can narrow the world far too much. Do you look into areas outside your niche?
What if I want my niche to be “me”? I don’t do one thing over and over. I love doing so many different things and sharing them.
Ok. Booped the button and will make connections. Thanks for another thoughtful video Nate!
Awesome! Thank you!
4:26 something is working. Cause is the first time I have watched you. The reason is cause your page popped up on my watch list.
(I want to give you a gift and tell you my steps in order to have more material for your studies)
1. I was sceptic about the tumbnail
2. I read some good comments
3. Then I decided to watch it
4. Now, I think your content is cool, and maybe it will be useful to me
(I have a half idea, no body knows, to open a channel myself)
5. So i subscribe in case i will need you